Russian leader Vladimir Putin visited Pyongyang on Wednesday, spending a day with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un as they seek to bolster cooperation between their nations.
Photos of their day together present a rosy relationship between both leaders, underscoring how heavily Pyongyang and Moscow hope to lean on each other as they grow increasingly isolated from the rest of the world.
Indeed, Putin’s Wednesday visit was his first to North Korea since 2000.
Kim, for his part, rolled out the red carpet for Putin, showering him with gifts, a dramatic welcoming ceremony, a banquet, and a concert.
If North Korean and Russian state media had their way, you would think both men had been best buds for decades.
Kim brought Putin to Kim Il Sung Square, where a crowd waited for them.
State media reports suggest that North Korea turned out throngs of Pyongyang citizens for the occasion, writing that streets were decorated for “scores of kilometers” along Putin’s route and filled with people.
Both men were paraded in a Mercedes Benz as the crowd released balloons.
Similar treatment was given to Chinese leader Xi Jinping during his 2019 visit, when he was presented with children holding balloons.
Hundreds of portraits of Kim and Putin were reported to be hanging throughout Pyongyang.
North Korean state outlet Rodong Sinmun wrote that slogans praising Putin were emblazoned on signposts and street lights throughout Pyongyang.
Russian journalists who arrived 12 hours before Putin reported that some 400 portraits of the Russian leader were set up in the North Korean capital, per The Telegraph.
One of Kim’s gifts to Putin appears to be a portrait of the Russian leader.
Nestled among black-and-white fireworks and a representation of the Kremlin, Putin’s face is the star of the art piece.
Another is of a bust bearing Putin’s likeness.
It’s unclear whether Putin took the bust or art piece home.
Putin gave Kim some presents, including an admiral’s ceremonial blade and a tea set.
Per state media, the above three photos were taken at the Kumsusan State Guesthouse in Pyongyang, a facility used by China’s Xi in 2019 — the last state visit hosted by North Korea.
Kim also received a Russian-made Aurus limousine, which both men took turns driving.
Putin’s own entourage regularly uses the Aurus Senat, and he gave Kim a similar luxury sedan in February. While it was a gift, sending the car to North Korea violated United Nations sanctions.
Kim is reportedly a luxury car enthusiast, with a Cadillac SUV, a Maybach limousine, and a Rolls Royce Phantom in his collection.
Kim presented Putin with several white horses deployed for the welcoming ceremony.
The leaders gathered at a garden in the Kumsusan Guest House, where both men had been driving the Aurus gifted to Kim.
State media footage showed Kim feeding a carrot to one of the horses.
State media released dozens of photos showing both leaders laughing or smiling.
Few photos showed the pair, often flanked only by translators, looking serious or stern.
North Korean state media lavished praise on their personal relationship, writing that both men “shared deep emotion and joy” on their stroll.
Putin was also given a pair of Pungsan hunting dogs.
The same breed was given to South Korea’s then-president, Moon Jae-in, in 2018 when ties in the peninsula appeared to be warming.
The Pungsan, sporting a thick, white coat and bred in mountainous regions, is North Korea’s national dog and one of its most prized treasures.
Kim and Putin later sat for negotiations with their officials and a one-on-one conversation.
North Korean state media reported that both men spoke personally for about two hours, once again highlighting their conversation as having a “friendly and comradely atmosphere.”
Notably, Russian state media agency RIA Novosti reported that Kim “expressed full support” for Moscow’s military actions in Ukraine.
Both leaders signed an agreement that mostly reiterated a 1961 agreement between their countries to defend each other if attacked and establish closer military ties.
For Russia, North Korea is becoming a source of vital ammunition and arms for the war in Ukraine.
Putin has been kicking Russia’s defense manufacturing industry into full gear, focusing its economy heavily on weapons manufacturing and arms development to sustain its invasion of Ukraine.
NATO officials say Moscow’s production capabilities far outweigh the West’s in sheer volume despite heavy sanctions imposed by the alliance.
Even so, Russia needs far more shells than the estimated 3 million it produces yearly.
It’s been accused by the US of acquiring ammunition from Pyongyang since September 2022, and North Korean munitions have reportedly been found on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Observers say that in return, North Korea is getting food, supplies, and materials.
While it’s not certain exactly what North Korea needs from Russia, it’s clear that Pyongyang benefits from a strategic partnership with Moscow.
South Korea said in February that North Korea is receiving food and raw materials from Russia, and is working its weapons factories at full capacity while other production facilities stall at about 30%.
With Moscow sending over the materials to make munitions, that would effectively make North Korea a remote factory for Russia.
A United Nations report in August 2023 also said North Korea desperately needs petroleum products, which Russia can provide.
Russia has also reportedly been working closely to advise and boost North Korea’s space and nuclear arms development. For example, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported in May that Russian scientists had arrived in Pyongyang last year as North Korea hoped to launch a spy satellite. The satellite exploded just after takeoff.
Talks aside, Kim also brought Putin to a gala concert in the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium.
Per North Korean state media, Putin’s face flashed above the stage as the national anthems of Russia and North Korea played and a military band put on a performance.
North Korean singers and a male choir were also featured.
A repeated theme in Putin’s day trip was the Korean War, when the Soviet Union provided fighter jets and pilots to North Korea.
Putin received North Korea’s highest honor, named after Kim’s grandfather.
Kim gave Putin an award of the Order of Kim Il Sung, his grandfather and the first dictator of the ruling party in North Korea.
North Korean state media wrote that Putin had “performed great exploits” in growing ties between the two countries.
A banquet was held in Putin’s honor, attended by Russia’s top officials.
RIA Novosti wrote that the menu included salads, two cold appetizers, chicken and medicinal pumpkin, stewed cod, fried lamb, boiled seafood, and Korean noodles with beef tenderloin.
For dessert, Putin had a choice of chocolate chip or blueberry ice cream, the state outlet reported.
Putin praised Kim, saying that ‘a good neighbor is better than a brother far away.’
In exchanging pleasantries with Kim, the Russian leader also blasted the US and its allies, accusing them of perpetuating “hegemony and neo-colonialist practices,” per Rodong Sinmun.
It’s a common refrain that North Korean state media uses to criticize the West.
It was time for Kim to say goodbye to Putin by Wednesday evening.
As North Korea’s first state visit in five years ended, its state media lauded its ties with Russia again, calling Putin’s delegation the country’s “closest and most precious friends.”
Putin was reported to have invited Kim to visit Russia again. The North Korean leader last arrived in Moscow in September 2023, though his six-day trip lasted much longer than Putin’s quick stop.
Waving through his aircraft window, Putin replicated the show of friendship before the cameras.
“We’ll be in contact,” Putin told Kim, according to RIA Novosti.
Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine rages on, with renewed fighting in Kharkiv.
As Putin shook hands and supped with Kim, his forces continued to fight in Ukraine.
In Kharkiv, a northeastern region in Ukraine that borders Russia, Kyiv says its troops are pushing back an advance from the Kremlin that started in early May.
Vovchansk, a Ukrainian city near the border, has been central to the fighting in Kharkiv.
Key to the war has been artillery shells — ammunition that Ukraine was starved of for months but has recently been receiving after a resumption of US military aid.
With North Korea aggressively testing devastating weapons, Seoul is aghast at the Putin-Kim meet-up.
South Korea, on edge as Pyongyang steps up long-range missile tests and space launches, has condemned the treaty signed on Wednesday by Kim and Putin.
It called up Russia’s ambassador to Seoul on Friday to protest the arrangement and said that Moscow cooperating militarily with Pyongyang would violate international sanctions.
Now, South Korean officials say the revitalized partnership between North Korea and Russia may prompt Seoul to lift its ban on sending weapons to Ukraine. South Korea has a substantial conventional arms manufacturing sector and is the world’s 10th biggest arms exporter, per the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Putin sought to assure Seoul that the treaty only dealt with either country defending each other, though he did not address South Korea’s concerns that Russia was enabling Pyongyang.
“The Republic of Korea does not plan aggression against the DPRK, which means there is no need to be afraid of our cooperation in this area,” he said, per RIA Novosti.
Even as he meets with Kim, Putin must keep China top-of-mind.
Although North Korea offers a potential stream of ammunition to Russia, China is clearly Moscow’s greater ally by far.
And observers say China’s Xi likely isn’t a fan of Putin’s wartime brotherhood with Kim, especially given Beijing’s growing close ties with Moscow.
As China assists Russia with trade and — as accused by the West — electronics for sophisticated weaponry, it also has to balance pressure from the rest of the world to keep its distance from Pyongyang.
Beijing’s support for Russia has been so vital to its war that NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg accused it on Thursday of “fueling the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War Two.”
So despite the flurry of gifts, warm words, and smiles he’s exchanged with Kim, the friendship Putin really needs is the one in Beijing.
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